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Katrin Holtwick (L) and Ilka Semmler of Germany celebrate their victory in the Women's Beach Volleyball match between Germany and Czech Republic on Day 1 of the London 2012 Olympic Games. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Have you noticed many athletes participating in the 2012 London Olympics wearing funky tape on their bodies? The tape comes in different colors, from electric blue to hot pink, but while the array of colors are produced with fashion in mind, the tape was created for a different purpose - to allow athletes to compete at a world class level, despite aches and pains.

The tape is properly referred to as kinesiology tape, and for roughly thirty years, manufacturers have produced it in a roll format. Consider your use of masking tape. The tape comes in a roll, which is unraveled to the user's estimated liking and then cut by the physical force of one's hand, a pair of scissors, or some other cutting device. After coming to the realization that the manner of applying kinesiology tape in the roll format was inefficient, Dr. Kevin Jardine began the process of creating an alternative device, which is called SpiderTech Tape, and is being used by many Olympians in the 2012 Games.

Dr. Jardine, a renowned Chiropractor, health and fitness expert, and innovator in the field of physical and rehabilitative medicine, is the man behind the creative designs seen on Olympic athletes, including the bizarre (but effective) use by the athletes pictured in this article. While the designs may seem peculiar at first glance, the pattern is purposeful; the designs were created in a way to easily apply over different body parts. And most important for athletes, they do not have to assemble the design by cutting a roll of kinesiology tape themselves.

Athletes including Simon Whitfield (Canadian Olympic triathlon champion and flag bearer for his country in the 2012 Games), Paula Findlay (Canadian triathlete), Dotsie Bausch (seven-time USA Cycling National Champion), and Canadian sprint kayaker AdamVan Hooverton are donning Dr. Jardine's innovative kinesiology tape. But the kinesiology tape is not only meant for Olympic athletes. In fact, Dr. Jardine created his tape in a standardized, easy to apply format so that it would be adopted by the general consumer market to help with sore and achy muscles.

Kinesiology tape comes in different shapes for use on various sections of the body. (Image credit: Getty Images)

"Kinesiology tape has traditionally been known to be used in a clincical setting," said Dr. Jardine to Forbes.com. "We are now seeing the end-user being able to access the benefits of kinesiology tape directly themselves." However, one concern that has been raised is that athletes who wear the tape may receive an unfair advantage, akin to the use of performance enhancing drugs. In response, Dr. Jardine says, "the product won't help you super compensate your performance. If you could normally jump five feet and you have no injuries, you will still jump five feet with the tape on you. It will simply allow you to forget about pain that would otherwise decrease your performance."

Dr. Jardine believes that there is going to be an increase in the need to use SpiderTech Tape as people become more active around the world. His product is already bringing in revenues of $10-20 million per year, but Dr. Jardine projects that in the next couple of years, those revenues will increase three-fold. He bases that estimate on buzz from the Olympics in addition to an anticipated successful retail launch, which will include higher front end costs associated with marketing his product in order to educate non-Olympic athletes that SpiderTech Tape can help them with their aches and pains.

SpiderTech Tape's main competitors are pharmaceutical companies producing drugs that seek to numb sensation or pain. However, Dr. Jardine believes there is a massive appeal for natural and alternative ways to help alleviate pain that does not rely on drugs, and that there are very few options in that vertical. Many Olympic athletes have bought in, and perhaps soon you will also be purchasing SpiderTech Tape at your local supermarket.